Alexa Avilés is an American politician, community activist, and non-profit manager from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. She is a member of the
New York City Council for the
38th district, which covers
Sunset Park along
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
's western shoreline, also covering
Red Hook,
Greenwood Heights, and small parts of
Windsor Terrace,
Dyker Heights, and
Borough Park neighborhoods in western
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
Prior to taking office, Avilés worked in the non-profit sector, served as president of a
parent-teacher association and a member of
Brooklyn Community Board 7
Brooklyn Community Board 7 is a New York City community board that encompasses the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace, Greenwood Heights and South Park Slope. It is delimited by Gowanus Bay on the west; by 15th Street ...
.
Early life and education
Avilés was born in
Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and raised in
East New York
East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...
.
She was the youngest of seven children to a substance abuse counselor mother, and the first in her family to attend college.
She graduated
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1995, and received a master's degree from
CUNY's
Baruch College
Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates unde ...
School of Public and International Affairs
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...
.
She is a
National Urban Fellow and an alumna of
A Better Chance
A Better Chance (ABC) is a non-profit organization with the goal of helping more talented young people of color to become well-educated by attending high-achieving boarding, day, and public schools in the United States. ABC was founded in ...
.
Career
Her first job began as internship in college and then continued after graduation, at a philanthropy that provided environmental grants in under-served communities in Mississippi, and from there she branched out to work in
reproductive rights
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:
Reproductive rights rest o ...
and justice drives for native communities.
She later worked for the Justice, Equality, Human dignity and Tolerance Foundation (JEHT), focused on mass incarceration issues as a program manage, focusing on juvenile decarceration.
She also worked at the Fund of the Four Directions.
Avilés was a program officer and then program director at the Scherman Foundation from 2011 to 2021, working on advocacy for human rights, reproductive rights, and strengthening programs for the arts.
Elected office
In 2021, Avilés defeated five other candidates to win the
Democratic nomination, prevailing over her closest opponent Yu Lin 65%-35%. in the fifth round of
ranked choice voting.
She received endorsements from U.S. Senator
Bernie Sanders, Congressmembers
Nydia Velázquez
Nydia Margarita Velázquez Serrano (born March 28, 1953) is a politician serving in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. A Democrat from New York, Velázquez chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus until January 3, 2011. He ...
and
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, State Senators
Julia Salazar
Julia Salazar (born December 30, 1990) is an American politician and activist. She is the New York State Senator for the 18th district, which covers much of northern Brooklyn, centered on Bushwick. She won the seat as a first-time candidate af ...
and
Jabari Brisport
Jabari Brisport (born August 9, 1987) is an American politician, activist, and former public school teacher. He is the state senator for New York's 25th State Senate district in Brooklyn, and the first openly gay person of color ever elected to t ...
, Assemblymember
Marcela Mitaynes
Marcela Mitaynes is a Peruvian-American politician and tenant organizer. She is a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 51st district as a Democrat. Mitaynes is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Early life a ...
, the
Working Families Party
The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Ne ...
,
United Federation of Teachers
The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most teachers in New York City public schools. , there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and 17,000 paraprofessional educators in the union, as well as about 54,00 ...
,
District Council 37
District Council 37 (Also known as DC37) is New York City's largest public sector employee union, representing over 150,000 members and 50,000 retirees.
DC37 was chartered in 1944 by AFSCME to represent public employees in New York City. It w ...
, and other local groups and elected officials.
No Republican challenged her in the November 2021 general election, and Avilés won with over 80% of the vote. She took office in January 2022.
Personal life
She lives with her husband, Frankie, and her two daughters in
Sunset Park, where she has lived since 2000.
Avilés is a board member of the Management Assistance Group, and serves on the Racial Justice Advisory Council of the Brooklyn Community Foundation.
She is a member of
Brooklyn Community Board 7
Brooklyn Community Board 7 is a New York City community board that encompasses the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace, Greenwood Heights and South Park Slope. It is delimited by Gowanus Bay on the west; by 15th Street ...
and serves as the president of the
PS 172 parent-teacher association.
She is a member of the
Democratic Socialists of America
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...
.
Election history
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avilés, Alexa
21st-century American politicians
American politicians of Puerto Rican descent
Democratic Socialists of America politicians from New York
Hispanic and Latino American politicians
Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
Hispanic and Latino American New York City Council members
Columbia University alumni
Living people
New York (state) Democrats
New York (state) socialists
New York City Council members
People from Bayamón, Puerto Rico
People from Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Politicians from Brooklyn
21st-century American women politicians
Women New York City Council members
1973 births